Random ramblings of a mind damaged by years of disuse and abuse. Also a place to go to be bored to tears.

The Random Comic Strip

Words to live by...

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and to rest afterward."

[Spanish Proverb]Ius luxuriae publice datum est

(The right to looseness has been officially given)

"Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders," wrote Ludwig von Mises, "no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interest, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle."

Apparently, the crossword puzzle that disappeared from the blog, came back.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Politics and Me

Some of you may wonder why I don't want to write about politics on this blog. It's pretty simple, you would all end up hating me or trying to get me elected to office. There would be no middle ground. My political viewpoints are somewhere to the right of Attila the Hun's (the wuss) unless someone tugs at my heartstrings with a picture of a poor hungry waif in a slum somewhere, in which case you may call me St. Douglas the Socialist.

That's what politics is all about, isn't it? Manipulating the public's emotions in order to garner votes for a person you wouldn't allow to date your ugly step-sister? Whoops, just went sexist there for a moment. That disqualifies me already. My political opponents (of which, I am sure there would be hordes) would see to it that I was thoroughly raked over the coals for that one.

So, no political office for me. Besides, the only one that might interest me is Supreme Emperor of the World. And that doesn't exist... yet. When it does, sign me up.

It's not that I am not interested in politics. I am. I am fascinated by it. Like watching a train wreck in slow motion. I'd liken it to mud wrestling but that is less sleazy and I would be doing a disservice to the women who engage in that art form. My interest is mostly in the campaigning and other political maneuvering.

Most campaigns seem to be about telling you what the other candidate(s) will do to make your life more miserable than it already is. Each claims to be the one person who will treat your tax money like it is sacred. Which is probably an honest admission when you think about it. They all worship it.

- According to Sigmund Freud, "projection" is a psychological defense mechanism whereby one "projects" one's own undesirable thoughts, motivations, desires, and feelings onto someone else. It is a common process that every person uses to some degree.

Most campaigns are classic studies in projection. Candidate A accuses candidate B or being exactly the scoundrel that he, himself, is. Maybe it's jealousy, maybe B is just getting away with more than A is. B, in reply, accuses A of unfairly attacking him and of being a hypocrite while saying he would never accuse A of being either a pedophile or a wife beater in spite of those stories about him. The truth, as we all know, is that both candidates are probably only lying about themselves and are likely telling the truth about their opponents.

This brings me to the political "supporters". These are the people who ignore the faults of their chosen candidate while deploring the same faults in the opponent. If they are noteworthy people (celebrities, politicians not currently in a campaign, former office holders of some kind, or other political pundits) then they can be found on various political talk shows on TV telling as many lies as possible. In that sense, they are a like like athletic supporters; a necessary thing but which smells after being used.

A politician is someone who can tell lies out of both sides of his mouth and do it with flair. He can promise to lower your taxes while increasing spending. He is all things to all donors and voters. In that order, I suspect.

And, yet, we pin a lot of hopes and dreams on them. We are an odd species.

9 comments:

I'd like to repeat some of the things I read from gun haters online about gun owners' erotic dreams/masculinity/physical features, but it's somewhere between R and NC-17. It always makes me laugh. I think a lot of what Freud said has been debunked or at least hotly debated, but he got projection right on.

Steven - There is a political mantra that says "Follow the money." Well, I don't believe that. I like to say "Follow the hate." The more irrational anger and hate expressed by a political party or philosophy and its adherents, the less I wish to be associated with it. So I listen more to those around me than I do to the opposition.

Seems to me that if any one person, particularly with the Internet tools available today, really wanted to change this whole system, they could start trying, and gain quite a bit of attention. The reality is that we are not "sufficiently motivated" to do so, and so it continues.

There is also the option of moving to another country for the dissatisfied.

Log- You cannot change this system. All you can do is change the form it has. So long as human beings aspire to power over other human beings, as long as people look to others to solve their problems, as long as people eschew personal responsibility, the system (regardless of form) will continue.

Log- You cannot change this system. All you can do is change the form it has. So long as human beings aspire to power over other human beings, as long as people look to others to solve their problems, as long as people eschew personal responsibility, the system (regardless of form) will continue.

Seems to me that if any one person, particularly with the Internet tools available today, really wanted to change this whole system, they could start trying, and gain quite a bit of attention. The reality is that we are not "sufficiently motivated" to do so, and so it continues.

There is also the option of moving to another country for the dissatisfied.

Steven - There is a political mantra that says "Follow the money." Well, I don't believe that. I like to say "Follow the hate." The more irrational anger and hate expressed by a political party or philosophy and its adherents, the less I wish to be associated with it. So I listen more to those around me than I do to the opposition.